- EV sales made up 88.9% of total automotive sales in Norway in 2024
- They also accounted for 96% of new car sales in the first few weeks of 2025
- Norway pledged to try and become fully electric in 2017
Norway is set to become the world’s first country to transition fully to electric vehicles (EVs) by removing gas and diesel fuelled cars from its new car market, according to data from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
The country’s EV sales have grown from less than 1% of total automotive sales in 2010 to 88.9% in 2024.
According to the latest data , EVs accounted for 96% of new car sales in the first few weeks of 2025.
Norway has also planned to transition to electric city buses this year and make heavy-duty vehicles such as lorries 75% renewable by the end of this decade.
Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, Norway’s Deputy Transport Minister, credits the country’s transition to long-term and consistent legislation designed to support EV uptake rather than imposing bans on diesel and gas fuelled vehicles.
“Transport is a big part of the answer for climate-friendly solutions,” she said.
“We need to make sure that some of the success we have had with cars can be used for other areas of the transport sector.”
Some of Norway’s policies to incentivise EV uptake include an exemption on VAT, discounts on road and parking taxes, and access to bus lanes, as well as government investment in public EV charging infrastructure.
Norway is significantly ahead of most of other countries. By contrast, EVs accounted for only 8.1% of total US sales in 2024, although that figure was up from 7.8% in 2023.
Rico Luman, senior sector economist for transport and logistics at Dutch bank ING, described Norway as a “global front-runner” and “an example for other countries”.
However, Luman stressed that Norway is one of the most prosperous countries in Europe and can “easily afford relentless budgets”.
“Another point is that energy is relatively cheap in Norway which makes EVs more attractive,” Luman explained.
Harald Nils Røstvik, professor at Norway’s University of Stavanger, doesn’t think Norway will regress as other countries, such as the USA, seem to be.
“We will not return to the bulky, noisy, dirty diesel car. I mean, for the majority. It is just not logical,” he said.
Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association (NEVA), said it was important to celebrate eco-friendly achievements and expects the country to be able to do more.
“In times like this with Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the climate agreement and everything, we need to celebrate the achievements that we have managed,” Bu commented.
Bu also explained that 28% of cars are fully electric at national level, rising to 40% in Norway’s capital, Oslo.
“Our whole society has gone through this mental shift. I mean, it’s not like Norwegians are greener or more prone to do this kind of thing than others,” Bu explained.
“It was the policies that did it and people quickly understood and changed their thinking.”
